Infrared dark clouds as precursors to star clusters     

Jill M. Rathborne  James M. Jackson  Robert Simon  Qizhou Zhang 《Astrophysics and Space Science》2009,324(2-4):155-162

Infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) are cold, dense molecular clouds identified as extinction features against the bright mid-infrared Galactic background. Our recent 1.2 mm continuum emission survey of IRDCs reveals many compact (<0.5 pc) and massive (10–2100 M_⊙) cores within them. These prestellar cores hold the key to understanding IRDCs and their role in star formation. Here, we present high angular resolution spectral-line and mm/sub-mm continuum images obtained with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer and the Sub-Millimeter Array towards three high-mass IRDC cores. The high angular resolution images reveal that two of the cores are resolved into multiple, compact protostellar condensations, while the remaining core contains a single, compact protostellar condensation with a very rich molecular spectrum, indicating that it is a hot molecular core. The derived gas masses for these condensations suggest that each core is forming at least one high-mass protostar, while two of the cores are also forming lower-mass protostars. The close proximity of multiple protostars of disparate mass indicates that these IRDCs are in the earliest evolutionary states in the formation of stellar clusters.  相似文献   

Fragmentation of rangelands: Implications for humans, animals, and landscapes   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

N. Thompson Hobbs  Kathleen A. Galvin  Chris J. Stokes  Jill M. Lackett  Andrew J. Ash  Randall B. Boone  Robin S. Reid  Philip K. Thornton   《Global Environmental Change》2008,18(4):776

Fragmentation of the ecosystems of the earth into spatially isolated units has emerged as a primary component of global change. Often, fragmentation results from actions that are intended to enhance human livelihoods and well-being; however, there are often costs to ecosystems and human economies that are not considered. We describe the three general categories of processes causing fragmentation of rangelands worldwide: dissection, decoupling, and compression. We show that access to heterogeneity of landscapes is an important attribute of grazing ecosystems worldwide, and that fragmentation of these systems, even when it proceeds in the absence of habitat loss, can limit options of people and animals, options that are particularly important in temporally heterogeneous environments. We discuss the consequences of fragmentation for people, livestock, wildlife, and landscapes and describe potential adaptations that can mitigate its harmful outcomes. We close by reviewing policy options that promote re-aggregation of landscapes and adaptation to fragmentation.  相似文献   

The significance of groundmass ilmenite and megacryst ilmenite in kimberlites     

Jill Dill Pasteris 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1981,75(4):315-325

Criteria are suggested for distinguishing xenocrystic ilmenites from those indigenous to the host kimberlite. For instance, in contrast to groundmass grains, ilmenite xenocrysts usually are larger, have reaction rims of leucoxene and perovskite, exhibit strong magnesium enrichment outward, and sometimes have exsolution lamellae and deformation features. Most of the abundant ilmenite macrocrysts found in kimberlite appear to have been phenocrysts in a crystal mush unrelated to kimberlite. On the other hand, kimberlitic groundmass ilmenite is rare, but consistently more magnesian than the cores of macrocrysts. Strong Mg-enrichment patterns evident in the ilmenite macrocrysts probably developed during their attempt to equilibrate with the more magnesian, fractionating kimberlitic liquid. The hypothesis of extensive reaction of ilmenite with kimberlite melt/ fluid has implications with regard to the following: (1) the degree of differentiation of kimberlite melts; (2) the genesis of mantle megacrysts; (3) the reactivity of kimberlite; and (4) the usefulness of groundmass ilmenite as a petrogenetic indicator.  相似文献   

Anomalies in temperature and rainfall during warm Arctic seasons as a guide to the formulation of climate scenarios     

Jill Williams 《Climatic change》1980,2(3):249-266

Recently much concern has been expressed regarding the impact of an increased atmospheric CO₂ concentration on climate. Unfortunately, present understanding and models of the climate system are not good enough for reliable prediction of such impacts. This paper presents an analysis of recent climate data in order to illustrate the nature of regional temperature and rainfall changes in different seasons and to provide some guidance with regard to points which might be borne in mind when scenarios of future climate (especially those taking into account human impacts) are being formulated.Since it is believed that an increased atmospheric CO₂ concentration will cause a warming and models and data suggest that the Arctic is more sensitive to climatic change than other latitudes, anomalies associated with warm Arctic seasons have been studied.The regional temperature, precipitation and pressure anomalies in the northern hemisphere for the 10 warmest Arctic winters and 10 warmest Arctic summers during the last 70 years have been investigated. Even when the Arctic area is warm, there are circulation changes such that large coherent anomalies occur elsewhere, with some regions warming and some cooling. The 10 warmest Arctic winters were characterised by larger amplitude anomalies, in the Arctic and elsewhere, than the 10 warmest summers, illustrating the difference in response between seasons. The precipitation differences for the 10 warmest Arctic winters and summers show for North America large coherent areas of increase or decrease, which again differ according to season. However, in winter the differences are not statistically significant, while the differences in two areas are significant in summer.  相似文献   

Book reviews     

Michel M. Verstraete  John E. Kutzbach  Jill Jäger 《Climatic change》1982,4(1):99-103

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Crater size-shape profiles for the moon and mercury: Terrain effects and interplanetary comparisons     

Eugene I. Smith  Jill A. Hartnell 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1978,19(4):479-511

New crater size-shape data were compiled for 221 fresh lunar craters and 152 youthful mercurian craters. Terraces and central peaks develop initially in fresh craters on the Moon in the 0–10 km diameter interval. Above a diameter of 65 km all craters are terraced and have central peaks. Swirl floor texture is most common in craters in the size range 20–30 km, but it occurs less frequently as terraces become a dominant feature of crater interiors. For the Moon there is a correlation between crater shape and geomorphic terrain type. For example, craters on the maria are more complex in terms of central peak and terrace detail at any given crater diameter than are craters in the highlands. These crater data suggest that there are significant differences in substrate and/or target properties between maria and highlands. Size-shape profiles for Mercury show that central peak and terrace onset is in the 10–20 km diameter interval; all craters are terraced at 65 km, and all have central peaks at 45 km. The crater data for Mercury show no clear cut terrain correlation. Comparison of lunar and mercurian data indicates that both central peaks and terraces are more abundant in craters in the diameter range 5–75 km on Mercury. Differences in crater shape between Mercury and the Moon may be due to differences in planetary gravitational acceleration (gMercury=2.3gMoon). Also differences between Mercury and the Moon in target and substrate and in modal impact velocity may contribute to affect crater shape.  相似文献   

A casting procedure for reproducing coarse‐grained sedimentary surfaces     

Thomas Buffin‐Blanger  Ian Reid  Stephen Rice  Jim H. Chandler  Jill Lancaster 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2003,28(7):787-796

In the ?eld, the measurement of near‐bed hydraulics remains problematic. Greater precision is possible in the laboratory, but, in the case of gravels, it is dif?cult to create a water‐worked channel‐bed that is realistic enough to replicate faithfully the conditions found in nature. In this paper, a technique to reproduce coarse‐grained sedimentary fabrics of large areal extent is described. It involves moulding natural river‐bed surfaces from which facsimiles are cast. Remarkably realistic casts with dimensions of 1 m by 2 m have been produced and their quality assessed using spatial data derived using automated digital photogrammetry. The casts reproduce the prototype surfaces with errors at millimetre scale (0·5 per cent of the microrelief). The technique has facilitated the introduction of sedimentary surfaces that incorporate natural, complex structures of grains up to cobble size into experimental channels where detailed studies of near‐bed hydraulics can be carried out. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Forest Fragmentation in the Humid Tropics: A Cross–National Analysis     

Tom Rudel  & Jill Roper 《Singapore journal of tropical geography》1997,18(1):99-109

While habitat destruction always causes species extinctions, the rate of extinction may be highest in those habitats which become the most fragmented as they decline in size. For this reason, knowledge about the patterns and origins of rain forest fragmentation in the tropics may prove useful in efforts to preserve biodiversity. This paper calculates the degree of fragmentation in the tropical rain forests of 51 nations containing 83 per cent of the world's tropical forests. By these measures, West Africa and Central America have the most fragmented tropical rain forests in the world. Not surprisingly, rain forests in the Amazon basin are the world's least fragmented. Some patterns of tropical deforestation appear to produce more fragmentation than others. A two-stage least squares analysis of these data suggest that deforestation driven by smallholders is most likely to produce highly fragmented forest habitats. The implications of these findings for policy and for further research are briefly discussed.  相似文献   

Dieback of rural trees in Australia     

Jill Landsberg Dr.  F. R. Wylie Dr. 《GeoJournal》1988,17(2):231-237

Much of Australia's woody vegetation has been cleared since European settlement, allowing extensive agricultural and pastoral industries to develop. Although scattered stands of native trees were often left on farmland, many of these trees are now in decline, particularly in regions where farm management is intensive. Rural dieback is a dramatic manifestation of this decline, and is characterized by a widespread, relatively recent upsurge of premature dieback and death of trees on farms. Comparatively little is known of its aetiology. Possible causal agents include insects, pathogens, drought and changes in the properties of soils or groundwater. We review and assess the evidence implicating each of these factors, and outline a conceptual model that demonstrates how several of them may be undesirable side effects of an intensification of pastoral management. The model shows how several different factors may interact to contribute to tree stress, and how dieback may eventuate if any one of them intensifies. Negative feedbacks operate between insect damage and the epicormic foliage that eucalypts produce in response to it, and also between dieback-related tree deaths and a worsening of the environmental degradation that contributed to the onset of dieback. These negative feedbacks will have most impact in those rural areas in which trees have become predisposed to chronic defoliation because of management practices or other environmental factors.  相似文献   

Book reviews     

J. P. Holdren  P. H. Gleick  Robert S. Kandel  T. M. L. Wigley  Steven L. Rhodes  Jill Jäger 《Climatic change》1983,5(1):95-104

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